March FOTM Blog Hop ~ All About Ice Cream

It’s All About Ice Cream this month here at Scrapping for Less for the March Flavor of the Month card kit. Can you believe it has been one year since we began this card kit adventure? It has been a wild ride, but a very exciting ride!! We have grown with our subscriptions this past year by 8000%…and yes that is 8K percent growth! Baffles my mind! We are excited about this growth opportunity and even more excited with the new additions to our team…Keep looking to Scrapping for Less for some great inspiration in the future! Now onto these fabulous ladies, and our wonderful guest designers for what they have created for you with this super cute ice cream kit this month!

Don’t forget to enter in the Rafflecopter! And remember the best way to be reassured to receive a kit is to have a monthly subscription! Thanks again for hopping with us. Happy Crafting!

If you've already been hopping with us, you probably came from our Guest Designer Renuka Singhal's blog. I'm so glad to see such a turn out for Flavor of the Month's 1st year Anniversary! We have such a great reason to celebrate!!

For my first card I used Sketch #1 with Collection One. 

When I saw that cute cut apart piece with the little kids, it just spoke to me. I knew I had to use it as my feature piece for this card. I layered it with a piece of stars patterned paper from the Let's Party papers by Simple Stories. I then mat that piece on the Orange Fizz card stock. I cut a strip of the yellow star paper and the cut apart piece with the numbers and adhered them both to another piece of pretty paper from the same pack. I adhered the feature piece to the panel and then adhered the entire piece onto an Orange Fizz card base. I added a few of the Pink and Main Silver glossy dots from the collection and called this one done.

For my second card I used Sketch #2 with Collection Four.

I'll be honest, I was a bit of a rebel with this card... I didn't exactly keep to the sketch, but I think it turned out cute. My inspiration for this card was the piece of ephemera saying Happy Birthday and I just had to pair it with the adorable animal print paper from the Happy Hooray papers by Pebbles. I adhered the pieces to a Red Hot card base and then popped on a couple of the Happy Hooray puffy stickers. I then decided it needed an ice cream cone and the star, also from the ephemera pieces included in the collection.  

For my third card I used Sketch #3 with Collection Two.

I really wanted the stamp in this collection to be the focal point so I layered the papers from the My Favorite Things' Birthday Blowout papers included in the collection. I did veer away from the sketch a bit and made it work for my vision for this card. I stamped the image and colored it in using copic markers {Y02, Y06, Y13, E00, E55, R29, BG000, Bg01, B95}. I popped up the main image and then stamped the sentiment from the Flavor of the Month 1 Year Sentiment Stamp by Scrapping for Less... how cool is that?! Pretty cool, if you ask me! Anywho, I stamped the sentiment using the Turquoise ink pad by Darice that is included in the Banana Split level. I die cut the banner and adhered it to the card. I just love how this one turned out!

For my fourth card I used Sketch #4 with Collection Three.

I started by selecting the papers that I would layer together for this card... I liked the mix of prints in this collection, so fun! I cut all my pieces and adhered them all to a white card base. I then stamped Ice Cream Marci and the sentiment and colored them in using copics {Skin - E000, E21, E51, RV11; Hair/Cone - E55, E57; Hairband/Pants/Shoes - RV0000, RV11, RV13; Ice Cream - YG03, YG11; Letters - YG03, RV11, BG01, Y13; Ground - N0, N1}. I die cut the image and decided to layer it with the same size die cut just for a different look. I adhered the image to the pink patterned paper and then adhered them both to the card. I cut out the sentiment and mat it with a scrap piece of the patterned paper. I then adhered it to the card. I got to thinking that it needed just a little something so I added a few of the Gina Marie Paradise Matte Enamels.

That's it for me for this month's blog hop. Up next is Guest Designer Kristie Marcotte... I'm excited to see what she created! Let's go take a look!

~ Blog Hop List ~

Scrapping for Less

LeeAnn McKinney

Jessica Wilson

*Guest Designer* Renuka Singhal

Crystal O. Minkler <--- you're here

up next ---> *Guest Designer* Kristie Marcotte

Lucille Manos

*Guest Designer* Jess Gerstner

Katie Williams

*Guest Designer* Yolie Burke 

Courtney Kreeber

Tina Smith

Tanya Hahn

Desiree Pinterich-Kuemmerle

*Guest Designer* Jenn Bena

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

March FOTM Sneak peek ~ Ice Cream!

Hello! Today I'm sharing a sneak peek of the March 2018 Flavor of the Month card kit from Scrapping for Less. My first thought when I saw this months kit was... I have got to color these chicks! Ha! So... of course, it was the first thing I did!

I inked these little guys up using Memento tuxedo black ink so I could color them in using copic markers {Chicks - Y06, Y11, Y35, Y38, YR15, YR68; Ice Creams - BG11, BG13, BG72, G000, G00, G12, G43, YG17, YG25, R20, R85, R89; Cone - E31, E55, E57; Sky - BG000; Grass - G000, G12}. I tried to keep the colors similar to the colors in the polka dot paper. I die cut the chicks using a rectangle wonky die and then popped the panel up on the card. I stamped the sentiment with the same black ink and fussy cut a banner and then adhered it to the card. I added a few sequins and called this card done.

I sure hope that you enjoyed my card and that you're getting excited for the March FOTM card kit!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Lawn Fawn ~ Sunny Studio ~ Fun CAS Cards!

Hello! Today I'm sharing a couple of CAS cards using Distress Oxide inks. This is such a simple design that can be used for so many different cards with a variety of stamps!

For my first card, I started by smooshing Lucky Clover, Twisted Citron, and Squeezed Lemonade distress oxide inks on my craft mat. I dabbed the card stock into the inks drying in between colors to layer them. I kept the ink smooshing to one area to keep the focus where I would stamp my images. Now, onto these little aliens from Lawn Fawn's Beam Me Up stamp set... Oh My Goodness! How cute are they?! I stamped them with Memento tuxedo black ink using the Misti so that I could get a nice clean image. I stamped the beam from the spaceship using Lucky Clover distress oxide ink and then I painted some 'ground' in a semi-circle using the same ink. I stamped the aliens on a scrap piece of white card stock and colored them in with copics {V09, V15, BV000}. I fussy cut them out and adhered them to the die cut card front. I stamped the stars and planets randomly on the card and then mat the piece on a coordinating piece of card stock. I stamped the sentiments one die cut banners using VersaMark ink and heat embossed an ultra fine white embossing powder. I adhered the panel to a white card base and then popped up the sentiments and trimmed the banners. My final touch for this card was adding some glaze to the spaceship. I had a blast making this card so I decided to make another one with a similar design.

For my second card, I smooshed Worn Lipstick, Vintage Photo, and Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide inks on my craft mat. I dabbed the card stock into the inks drying in between colors to layer them the way I wanted. I then stamped these sweet images from Sunny Studio's Breakfast Puns stamp set on a piece of scrap paper and colored them using copics {RV10, RV13, E31, E33}. I die cut the ink smooshed panel and mat it on a coordinating piece of card stock. I stamped the hearts randomly using Worn Lipstick distress oxide ink and then I stamped the ampersand symbol in black ink using the Misti to get a nice crisp image. I adhered the panel to a white card base and then adhered the coffee and donut images. I stamped the sentiment using the same ink and embossing powder as the first card. I popped up the sentiment and then trimmed the banner. I also added a bit of glaze to the donut on this card... I had to, it's a donut! Ha! That's it for me this time. 

I hope you like the cards I shared today. Both of the stamp sets I used are in the shop just waiting for a new home ---> you can get them here.

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less ~ Heffy Doodle ~ Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Hello! I have a fun card for St. Paddy's Day! Do you make cards for St. Patrick's Day? I know it's not a huge holiday so not too many people do... but I do! I've always found St. Patrick's Day to be a fun day. And really, any excuse to make and send a card is great in my book!

Isn't this leprechaun from Heffy Doodle's Lucky Friends stamp set just the cutest?! I stamped him, the coins, and the cauldron using Memento tuxedo black ink and then colored them using copic markers {Skin - E50, E51; Beard - YR15, YR68; Shoes/Cauldron - N0, N3, N7, N10; Clothes - YG01, YG05, YG17; Coins - Y06, Y28}. I fussy cut those pieces and set them aside. 

I blended some Tumbled Glass distress ink on the center of a white card base. I die cut a piece of patterned paper and cut down another piece of patterned paper and set them aside. I created the rainbow by die cutting leftover papers from past card kits using the Paper Smooches Rainbow die from the February card kit. I stamped the sentiment and fussy cut a banner and then set that aside. All that was left was to adhere all the pieces on the card front. This was such a fun card to make! I hope that you like it and that your St. Paddy's Day is filled with fun... and not too much mischief! 

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Spring Tag ~ Unity Challenge ~ Beautiful Soul

Hello! I wanted to share this beautiful tag that I made for the Unity Spring Tag challenge over in the Unity Show & Tell Facebook group.

I started off by stamping the owl from Unity's Layers of Life kit called What You Really Love with Versamark ink and heat embossing an ultra fine white embossing powder. And then I got inky! I blended some Tattered Rose and Shaded Lilac distress oxide inks on a manila tag that I received with my Kit of the Month order from Unity. Once I was done blending those colors I stamped an image from another Layers of Life kit... this one is called Within Each of Us. I stamped the image a few times in Antique Linen distress oxide ink. It's hard to see in the picture but it gives a bit of dimension to the background.

Then I decided to add some texture, so I grabbed one of my Tim Holtz mini stencils (set 5) and Mother of Pearl Nuvo mousse. The mousse gives the piece texture and a beautiful shine. I stamped the owl image again on white card stock and blended some Worn Lipstick distress oxide ink over the flower. I fussy cut it out and set it aside. I added some gold thread to the tag adhering it to the back of the tag. I then applied some Multi Medium Matte to the back of the manila tag and adhered it to a Tim Holtz Etcetera Thickboard tag. I decided I wanted to lighten up the thickboard tag to keep it with the Spring theme and the light colors. I painted the edges of the tag with white acrylic paint and then I smooshed the paint brush around the edges to give it a bit of distressed look. Since I had the white acrylic paint out, I decided to also paint the reinforcer white.

I stamped the sentiment from the What You Really Love kit using Shaded Lilac distress oxide ink directly on the tag. I added some dew drops... I even added a couple to the owls eyes. I adhered the reinforcer to the top of the tag and added some ribbons. I also adhered the fussy cut flower. 

My final touch was a sentiment. This part took me the longest because this tag that started out as a piece to enter into a challenge turned into a gift for a friend that is facing some important medical tests this week. I wanted the sentiment to fit her and I knew when I saw the Floral Soul {textured feelings} kit that "beautiful SOUL" was THE sentiment. I stamped it on vellum card stock using Shaded Lilac distress oxide ink and heat embossed some clear embossing powder to make it shine. I trimmed around the sentiment and added adhesive behind the letters so it didn't show through the vellum card stock.

 I just love how this turned out! I hope that it brings joy and love to my friend. 

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

Scrapping for Less Castles & Dreams ~ A Dream is a Wish

Hello! I have a really quick and cute card using some leftover pieces from the February Castles & Dreams card kit. 

I used papers from Collection Two and the other elements are from the Banana Split subscription. I stamped the sentiment from the Castles and Dreams Sentiment stamp set using VersaMark ink and heat embossed some fine black embossing powder. I die cut the piece using a wonky rectangle die. I adhered the two pieces of rainbow paper left over from the kit and then I added the two stickers leftover from the Doodlebug Designs Rainbow Doodlepop. I adhered the whole panel to a white card base and there you have it. I love how easily it came together and I think it's pretty cute!

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal

~ Friends of Unity March Blog Hop ~

Hello! Wow! February zipped right on by, didn't it?! I can't believe it's already time for another Friends of Unity Blog Hop! We decided to go with a New Beginnings theme for this month. So naturally I started thinking about Spring. It's a time of new beginnings.

Spring is so close... soon the trees will turn to their gorgeous greens and the flowers will soon be in bloom. I, for one, cannot wait for some warmer weather. So with the theme New Beginnings on my mind, when I saw the February 2018 Kit of the Month {Being Who You Are}, I just knew I had to use it! 

I adore C.S. Lewis' books and when I saw this quote, I just had to use it on my card. And how sweet is this clock?! It was a must, too! I have to admit, I struggled deciding on what to do with the clock. 

I have my papers all picked out. I used a paper pack that I got last month at the Hobby Lobby. This one is called Kirby Teesdale Studio by The Paper Studio. I love the blues and greens in the paper and those fabulous flowers along the edge. I decided to keep the card pretty simple and let the paper shine! I added a few layers to bring the greens and blues to the eye, but I also wanted the sentiment to pop so I added a few layers of black. 

How sweet did this clock turn out?! I decided to paper piece it with papers from the same paper pad. I actually stamped it out three times. First on a piece of white card stock because the patterned papers are thin and I didn't want to accidentally tear it while I was fussy cutting. And then once on each of the papers. I cut out the face of the clock and adhered it to the pink patterned paper. I fussy cut the pink layer and adhered it to the white card stock and then I fussy cut the whole thing out. I'll admit it was a tad bit tedious, but I love how it turned out and that extra layer of paper really made it easier handle while I cut. My final touches on the clock were to add some black to the edge of the image to help it pop. For that, I used the Memento tuxedo black marker. I used a pink copic marker to add a touch of pink to the hearts on the face of the clock and I used a grey copic marker to add some grey to the hands on the clock. I went over the whole face of the clock with Fun Stampers Journey Journey Glaze. My first application was kind of bumpy so I did a second...and then a third application, letting each layer dry before adding to it. It's not perfect, but I think in person it looks really cool. ;) 

That's it for my card for this month's hop!

Now let's go see what the other hoppers have, shall we?! Oh, but before you hop away I have a fabulous giveaway up for grabs... what is it, you say? A grab bag!!! Yes! A fantastic grab bag of Unity stamps... and I'm thinking 25 stamps is a good number! LOL! So all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment below! It's that easy! :) Now, let's go check out the fabulous creations from the other gals in the hop!

~ Let's Hop ~

Crystal O. Minkler <--- you're here

up next ---> Eileen Mathys

Amber Trubiak

Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hays

Dawn Fields

Thanks for stopping by!

See ya next time.

~ Crystal